Dispensing valve



July 25, 1967 P. MESHBERG 3,332,626

DISPENSING VALVE Filed June 2l, 1965 (7l/I I l I /I INVENTOR.

United States Patent() Mice 3,332,626 DISPENSING VALVE Philip Meshberg,15 Stoneleigh Road, Fairfield, Conn. 06430 Filed .lune 21, 1965, Ser.No. 465,328 Claims. (Cl. 239-579) This invention relates to dispensingvalves for controlling the discharge of materials from a container underpressure. More speciiically, it pertains to specialized valves fordispensing material in massive quantities or at high velocity.

While standard material dispensing valves, having a longitudinallyreciproca'ble operator, meet the requirements of most applications, ithas been found that certain applications require dispensingcharacteristics that such standard valves cannot meet. For instance, thestandard dispensing valve cannot produce the massive discharge that isrequired -for applications such as fire extinguishers or the like, norcan it produce the high velocity discharge which would be required toeiectively dispense Syrups or the like, where it is desired that thematerial be simultaneously dispensed into and mixed with anothersubstance.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention toprovide a material dispensing valve, having a longitudinallyreeiprocable operator, capable of dispensing material from a containerin a specialized manner, such, for example, as in massive quantities, oneach operation of the valve, or at high velocity.

According to the invention, the foregoing object is achieved by formingthe valve to include a housing, through which all the material to bedispensed must pass, and providing the housing with inlet and outletports communicating the interior thereof with the material container andatmosphere, respectively. In accordance with the invention, it isessential, whether the valve is intended to dispense the material inmassive quantities or at high velocity, that the inlet and outlet portsbe so related to the housing as to permit massive quantities of materialto pass therethrough at any given instant on each operation of thevalve. In other words, the cross-sectional area of the inlet and outletports must be sufficiently great relative to the cross-sectional area ofthe valve housing as to permit a maximum of material to pass through thehousing to be dispensed therefrom. It is also important, in order toobtain a massive ilow of dispensing material, that the outlet port be ofat least as great cross-sectional area as the inlet port, therebypreventing the ow 0f material from being interrupted as by slowing itdown or limiting it.

In order to obtain high velocity discharge from the valve, the valvedescribed above, which produces a massive material discharge, ismodified by substantially restricting the ow of material from the outletport to the atmosphere, thus causing the material to build up behind therestriction and the pressure thus created to supplement the pressure inthe container for dispensing the material at a high velocity.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valve for dispensingmaterial in massive quantities from a container under pressure, whichincludes a longitudinally reciprocable valve stem guidably mounted in ahousing through which all the material being dispensed must pass, thevalve stem being formed to cooperate with the housing for providing aninlet port for openly communicating the interior of the housing with thecontainer `and an outlet port for communicating the interior of thehousing Ato the atmosphere when the stem is moved to discharge position,the inlet and outlet ports each being of large cross-sectional arearelative to the cross-sectional area of the housing for passing largequantities of material at 3,332,626 Patented July 25, 1967 any giveninstant through the housing, whereby massive material discharge isachieved.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dispensing valve havinga longitudinally reciprocable valve stem guided in openings in oppositeends of a valve housing through which all of the material beingdispensed must pass, the opposite ends of the valve stem being formedwith longitudinally extending ribs defining passages cooperativelyforming an inlet port at one end of the housing and an outlet port atthe opposite end thereof, the inlet and outlet port each having anoverall cross-sectional area which is relatively large compared to theoverall crosssectional area of the housing, whereby large quantities ofmaterial may be passed through the housing at any given instant.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a dispensing valve,having a housing through which all the material being dispensed mustpass and a longitudinally reciprocable valve stem guidable in openingsin opposite ends of the housing, the valve stem and opposite ends of thehousing cooperating to form inlet and outlet ports 4for passing materialthrough the housing, wherein the inner end of the housing is formed witha plurality of openings for supplementing the inlet port so that theoverall crosssectional area of the inlet port is relatively largerelative to the cross-sectional area of the housing and wherein theoutlet port is of at least as great cross-sectional area as the overallcross-sectional area of the inlet port, whereby a massive quantity ofmaterial may pass thro-ugh the housing at any given instant.

It is further an object of the invention to provide a dispensing valvefor dispensing material under pressure from a container which includes ahousing through which all the material being dispensed must pass, alongitudinally reciprocable valve stem cooperating with the housing forforming inlet and outlet ports for passing massive quantities ofmaterial through the housing at any given instant on operation of thevalve, and means vfor restricting the flow of material from the outletport, whereby the material ilow builds up pressure behind therestriction for supplementing the pressure dispensing the material fromthe container so that the material is dispensed to the atmosphere athigh velocity.

It is still further an object of the invention to provide a dispensingvalve operable in an upright position and having a longitudinallyreciprocable valve stern for operating the valve and passing all of thematerialv being dispensed through a valve housing, which dispensesmassive quantities of material on each operation of the valve and, withonly a minor modification of the material outlet, dispenses the materialat high veloci-ty.

An advantage of the present invention resides in the fact that astandard material dispensing valve, of the type including a housingthrough which all the material being dispensed must pass and alongitudinally reciprocable valve stem for operating the valve, withonly minor modification of the valve stem and/or housing, to provideinlet and outlet ports of relatively large cross-sectional area relativeto the cross-sectional area of the valve housing, may be converted to aspecialized valve construction for dispensing massive quantities ofmaterial and, with the further addition of a means for restricting themassive ilow of material from the outlet port of the valve, fordispensing material at high velocity.

A further advantagee of the present invention is that the specializedtype of material discharge achieved, namely massive quantity or highvelocity, is obtained through a construction that may be operated in anupright position, whereby it may be applied to a wide variety ofapplications and used in conjunction with a wide variety of directionalnozzles, applicators or the like.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thespecification and claims, when considered in connection with theattached sheet of drawings, illustrating one form of the invention,wherein like characters represent like parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary elevational view, in section, illustrating amaterial dispensing package embodying a dispensing valve according tothe invention, in nondischarge position, for dispensing massivequantities of material on each operation of the valve;

FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, but shows the valve in discharge position;

FIG. 3 is also similar to FIG. l, but shows the valve modified toprovide a construction for dispensing material at high velocity;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional View taken in the direction of the arrows4-4 in FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows5-5 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows6-6 in FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, the valve means of the instant invention,generally indicated by the numeral 10, is shown as part of aconventional material dispensing package 11, the package including, inaddition to the valve means, a container 12 for holding the material(not shown) to be dispensed under pressure therein and mounting means 13for mounting the valve means on the container, whereby discharge of thematerial therefrom is controlled. As illustrated in the drawings, rwhilethe valve means may be utilized with substantially any conventionaldispensing package and in conjunction with material containers of anywell known type, the valve means 1t) is here shown as part of, whatmight be termed, an upright dispensing package and is sealably mountedin the open neck 14 of a bottle type container by the mounting means 13.

With reference now to FIGS. l, 2 and 4 through 6, in particular, thevalve means, which in this embodiment of the invention is intended todispense a massive quantity of material on each operation of the valve,is seen to include a valve housing 15, of substantially tubular form,having its upper end secured in a mounting cup 16, forming part of themounting means 13, and its lower end disposed Within the interior of thecontainer 12. The mounting means 13 mounts and supports the valve meansin the open end of the container through a mounting fiange 17 formedintegral with the mounting cup, the mounting ange being connected to theneck of the container by rolling, crimping or similarly securing itthereover, as is Well understood in the art. In order to seal the4interior ofthe container from the atmosphere and close its open end, aresilient sealing ring 18 is provided, having a central fboretherethrough, which is clamped between the mounting flange 17 of themounting means 13 and the top edge of the container neck 14, the valvehousing extending through the bore in ring 18 and being sealably grippedthereby.

The valve housing 15, which is common to many types of dispensing valvesand provides a chamber 19 through which all the material to be dispensedmust pass, has a transverse Wall 24) at the inner end thereof, formedwith a bore 21 for communicating the interior of the housing or chamber19 to the container, and a resilient means, in the form of a disk 22having a bore 23 therethrough, clamped between the upper end of thehousing and the mounting means, for forming an outer end Wall. As willbe readily understood, the valve housing may be formed with a dependingskirt 24 for receiving the conventional dip tube 25 and may also beformed with an integral depending stud 26, having a bore therethroughforming a continuation of the bore 21, for frictionally supporting asmall diameter dip tube (not shown), if desired. Itis noted that in theillustrated form of valve means, the depending -stud 26 is provided witha plurality of longitudinally d extending, radially spaced ribs 27 forpressing the dip tube 25 into engagement with the inner surface of skirt24, the ribs ybeing tapered at their leading end to facilitate insertionof the dip tube.

The valve housing thus far described movably carries a valve stem orvalve operator 28, which has an inner end 29 guidably received in theopening 21 in inner end wall 20 of the housing and an outer end 30guidably received in the bore 23 of outer end wall disk 22. The valvestem, which is longitudinally reciprocable and normally resilientlyurged by a spring 31 to project its outer end 30 outwardly of thehousing, is formed with an enlarged intermediate portion 32 providing ashoulder 33 for engaging the underside of resilient end wall disk 22,when the valve stem is in normal position, for sealing the interior ofthe valve housing from the atmosphere.

As is common in valve constructions of thisV type, the valve stemcooperates with the valve housing to provide inlet and outlet ports forthe chamber 19 whereby, on movement of the valve stem against the spring31, the material to be dispensed is enabled to pass through the valvehousing from the containerto the atmosphere. In prior dispensing Valvesthe inlet port normally comprised an open, relatively small, passagebetween the inner end wall of the housing and the end 29 of the valvestern While the outlet port comprised a passage in the end 30 of thevalve stem having an opening thereto disposed adjacent the enlargedintermediate portion and normally positioned outwardly of resilient endseal 22. When it Was desired to dispense material from the container,the valve stern Was moved inwardly against the spring 31 to break theseal between enlarged valve stem portion 32 and resilient disk 22 andmove the opening of the outlet port into the chamber 19, therebyenabling the material to move, under the pressure in the container,through the valve housing and outwardly to the atmosphere.

While the prior valve constructions permitted continuous discharge ofmaterial from the container, it has been found that in order to obtain amassive discharge, that is, the passage of a large quantity of materialthrough the housing at any given instant, the cross-sectional area ofthe inlet and outlet ports must be sufficiently great relative to theoverall cross-sectional area of the housing to permit a maximum amountof material to pass into and out of the housing at any given instant.According to the present invention, this is achieved, withoutsubstantially eiecting the guiding relationship between the valvehousing and the valve stem, by forming the inner end 29 and outer end 30of the valve stem with longitudinally extending radially spaced ribs 34and 35, respectively. The ribs 34 and 35 which bear against the valvehousing in the openings through which their respective stem end portionsproject for maintaining the guiding relationship between the valvehousing and valve stem, cooperatively provide passages or channels 36and 37, respectively, the passages 36 cumulatively forming inlet portmeans for openly communicating the interior 19 of the housing to thecontainer and the passages 37 cumulatively forming the `outlet portmeans whereby the interior of the housing is Vcommunicated to theatmosphere when the valve stem is moved to discharge position.

While it is possible within the concept of the present invention thatthe valve stem construction above described will provide inlet andoutlet port means of sufficient size to assure a massive flow ofmaterial through the valve housing at any given instant, in thepreferred form of the invention illustrated the inner end wall 20 isformed with a plurality of radially spaced openings 38 disposedcircumferentially around the central openving 21 which receives andguides the inner end of the valve stem. The additional communicationprovided, between the interior of the housing and the container, by

the openings 38 supplements the communication provided by the passages36 and forms therewith an inlet port means having an overallcross-sectional area of suciently great size relative to thecross-sectional area of the housing for assuring the liow of a largequantity of material into the housing.

lt should here be noted, that in order to obtain the desired massivedischarge of material, the outlet port means should be of at least asgreat cross-sectional area as the inlet port means. In the illustratedform of the invention this is achieved by forming the Outer end portionof the valve stem to have a greater diameter than the inner end portion,thus increasing the overall crosssectional area of the passages 37formed therein.

The dispensing valve 10, above described, may, as shown, be providedwith a combined actuating button and directional dispensing nozzle 39for directing the liow of material being discharged through the outletport means. As will be seen, the button 39 is formed with a passage 40of at least as great cross-sectional area as the outlet port means andis provided with a depending skirt 41 for confining the passages 37 todirect the iiow of material through the outlet port means and thence tothe passage 40. The skirt 41 preferably ends sufficiently short of theends of the passages 37, or is spaced from the enlarged intermediateportion of the valve stem, a distance sufficient to assure anuninterrupted flow of material from the housing into the outlet portmeans when the valve `stem is moved to discharge position.

The material dispensing valve 10, above described in connection withFIGS. 1, 2 and 4 through 6, which is adapted to provide a massivedischarge of material from the container 12 on each operation of thevalve, may be modified with respect to the shape, form or location ofits parts, including the inlet and outlet port means, Without departingfrom the concepts of the invention, so long as the desired relationshipbetween the size of the inlet and outlet ports relative to the housingis maintained; the inlet and outlet ports must be large enough to assurea massive ow of material through the housing at any given instant.

Referring now to FIG. 3 of the drawing, the dispensing valve is shownmodified to produce a high velocity discharge of material. This valve isessentially identical to the massive discharge valve described above,but is provided with means, here shown as a plug 42 disposed in thepassage 40 of the button 39 formed with an orifice 43 of very smallcross-sectional area relative to the valve outlet port means, forrestricting the flow of discharging material, whereby the pressureproduced by the discharging material backing up behind the restrictionsupplements the pressure in the container to dispense the material athigh velocity.

It is noted that, while the size of the orifice 43 relative to theoverall size of the outlet port means may vary over a Wide range so thatcontrol 'over the velocity of the discharge may be achieved, it iscontemplated the cross-sectional area of the orifice shall not begreater than 95 percent of the cross-sectional area of the outlet portmeans nor less than 5 percent thereof. Further, it is noted that, whilethe restriction provided by the orifice 43 is here produced by utilizingan insert or plug 42. disposed in the actuator button 39, therestriction may take many other forms, such as by forming it as anintegral part of the valve stem itself, a reduction in size in a portionof the outlet port means, or as an integral part of the actuator buttonor the like.

Thus, among others, the several objects and advantages of the inventionas aforenoted are achieved. Obviously numerous changes in the structuremay be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined by the claims.

I claim:

1. A dispensing valve for controlling the discharge of material inmassive quantities from a container having the material under pressuretherein comprising a substantially tubular housing having a transversewall provided with a bore at the inner end thereof and a chamber at theouter end through which all material being dispensed passes; resilientmeans having a bore therethrough closing said housing and forming anouter end wall of said chamber; means for mounting said housing in anopening in the container for closing the same; a valve means slidablymounted in said housing for controlling the dispensing of the materialfrom the housing, said housing having a plurality of longitudinalpassages in the walls thereof extending from the chamber to thecontainer to pass massive quantities of material therethrough, saidvalve means having an outer portion extending from said container andprovided with a button on the outer end and having a dispensing nozzle,said button having enlarged passages communicating with a longitudinalpassage means in said portion; and means normally urging said valvemeans into an outwardly projected non-dispensing position; said outerend portion of said valve means being formed with outlet port meansnormally disposed outwardly of said resilient means and sealed therebyfrom the chamber of said housing, the longitudinal passage means in saidportion readily passing the material received from said longitudinalpassages in the housing to dispense the material from the chamber uponsaid outlet port means being moved inwardly of said resilient means to adischarge position against said urging means, whereby massive quantitiesof material are dispensed from said container through said plurality oflongitudinal passages in the housing to the chamber and through saidouter portion to the enlarged passages in the dispensing nozzle.

Z. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the bore in thetransverse wall communicates with the container and the valve means hasa portion thereof comprising a plurality of ribs for engaging the wallsof the bore for guiding the portion and also providing additionalpassages for the material communicating with said chamber.

3. The invention as dened in claim 1 wherein the valve means includes aunitary stem member having ribbed upper and lower portions providing aplurality of longitudinal passages for movement of the material to andfrom the chamber.

4. The linvention as defined in claim 1 wherein the projecting portionof the valve means has a ribbed crosssection and said button has asleeve surrounding said projecting portion to form said longitudinalpassage means in the said valve means.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein a member having arestricted orifice is provided in the discharge nozzle to provideincreased pressure for the high velocity discharge of said material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,594,539 4/1952 Brown 239-5793,191,816 6/1965 Fead et al 239-579 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,075,055 2/ 1960Germany.

EVERETT W. KIRBY, Primary Examiner.

1. A DISPENSING VALVE FOR CONTROLLING THE DISCHARGE OF MATERIAL INMASSIVE QUANTITIES FROM A CONTAINER HAVING THE MATERIAL UNDER PRESSURETHEREIN COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY TUBULAR HOUSING HAVING A TRANSVERSEWALL PROVIDED WITH A BORE AT THE INNER END THEREOF AND A CHAMBER AT THEOUTER END THROUGH WHICH ALL MATERIAL BEING DISPENSED PASSES; RESILIENTMEANS HAVING A BORE THERETHROUGH CLOSING SAID HOUSING AND FORMING ANOUTER END WALL OF SAID CHAMBER; MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID HOUSING IN ANOPENING IN THE CONTAINER FOR CLOSING THE SAME; A VALVE MEANS SLIDABLYMOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING FOR CONTROLLING THE DISPENSING OF THE MATERIALFROM THE HOUSING, SAID HOUSING HAVING A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINALPASSAGES IN THE WALLS THEREOF EXTENDING FROM THE CHAMBER TO THECONTAINER TO PASS MASSIVE QUANTITIES OF MATERIAL THERETHROUGH, SAIDVALVE MEANS HAVING AN OUTER PORTION EXTENDING FROM SAID CONTAINER ANDPROVIDED WITH A BUTTON ON THE OUTER END AND HAVING A DISPENSING NOZZLE,SAID BUTTON HAVING ENLARGED PASSAGES COMMUNICATING WITH A LONGITUDINALPASSAGE MEANS IN SAID PORTION; AND MEANS NORMALLY URGING SAID VALVEMEANS INTO AN OUTWARDLY PROJECTED NON-DISPENSING POSITION; SAID OUTEREND PORTION OF SAID VALVE MEANS BEING FORMED WITH OUTLET PORT MEANSNORMALLY DISPOSED OUTWARDLY OF SAID RESILIENT MEANS AND SEALED THEREBYFROM THE CHAMBER OF SAID HOUSING, THE LONGITUDINAL PASSAGE MEANS IN SAIDPORTION READILY PASSING THE MATERIAL RECEIVED FROM SAID LONGITUDINALPASSAGES IN THE HOUSING TO DISPENSE THE MATERIAL FROM THE CHAMBER UPONSAID OUTLET PORT MEANS BEING MOVED INWARDLY OF SAID RESILIENT MEANS TO ADISCHARGE POSITION AGAINST SAID URGING MEANS, WHEREBY MASSIVE QUANTITIESOF MATERIAL ARE DISPENSED FROM SAID CONTAINER THROUGH SAID PLURALITY OFLONGITUDINAL PASSAGES IN THE HOUSING TO THE CHAMBER AND THROUGH SAIDOUTER PORTION TO THE ENLARGED PASSAGES IN THE DISPENSING NOZZLE.